Hey everyone!
I have decided to not order bees for the observation hive. Instead I will just pickup my bees on April 19th, for the TBH (in 23 days by the way! hehe!). And I will use the Observation hive as a nuc, when my bees build up, and I can split them. That's proboly next year. But if I'm lucky I could split them this year.
Just wanted to say, thank you for the wonderful comments! Keep them coming for they encourage me to write more in this blog, and inspire me to go on into the fasinating world of bees!
By the way, tomarrow I'm picking up a smoker, 2 pairs of gloves and 2 veils from a retired beekeeper, for 15 dollars. Not bad, considering that smokers usually cost $30. And one pair of gloves could be $10. One veil could be $20. Not bad, not bad at all...=D
Some ideas of mine... for a waterer for the bees, get a big, clean bucket and drill holes about 2 inches from the top. Fill it up with water and put floaters in it, such as packaging peanuts or sticks. Bee creative! (opps bad pun!) The rain will keep it full and the holes prevent the water from overflowing and floaters from overflowing out of the bucket. Not my idea, i read it somewhere.
Now my actual idea was a feeder for the TBH. So you get 2 peices of wood, the same length. Make them short enough to fit about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the hive. Then you get a can or jar, and punch holes in the lid. Not too much or the syrup would just flow out, instead of creating a vaccum, and not spilling out. Put syrup in the can/jar, and put lid on it. Turn it upside down. Put the wood far apart, so that the can barely fits on top of the peices. TADA! You have your feeder! The can/jar shouldn't stick out of the hive, (because its so low) and it won't disturb the placement of the top bars. I would put the feeder behind a follower board, so i won't have to disturb the bees when feeding them. Drill a hole in the follower board, and when not feeding, put a cork in the hole. Now you have a very simple and cheap(if not... FREE!) feeder. I'm planning on just using the baggie feeder for when I first install the bees. Then I will use the can feeder when the bees get settled down. When I have time, I will quickly make this feeder and then take a pic. After all, a picture means a thousand words!
Have a great evening!
Kris
P.S.- Soon to come--> A list of what you might need when you first install the bees AND a how-to install a package of bees in a TBH.
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1 comment:
I truly appreciate your blog because I plan on having a TBH one day soon. This really helps me and I especially love the visual as it helps tremendously to understand what is going on. Keep it going as I will probably refer to your blog as the time gets closer for my hive to come. I now have 2 regular hives, but want to experience the TBH to make my life and back easier.
Sincerely
Annette from Placerville California
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